The present invention relates to conveyor chains. Many different types of conveyor chains are known in the art. These chains generally have a flat top surface for carrying products, and each link of the chain provides a surface against which a sprocket tooth can push for driving the chain.
One of the problems of prior art conveyor chains is that, if the chain links are made long enough to provide a substantial conveying surface and to minimize the number of parts (and therefore the cost of the chain), then there is a cordal effect when the chain is driven, making the chain move with a jerky, pulsing motion and creating noise. If the length of the links is reduced in order to reduce the cordal effect, then the conveying surfaces become very short, and the cost of the chain goes up substantially, due to the cost of assembling many more parts.
Another problem of prior art plastic conveyor chains is that they tend to break. The part which receives the chain pin often is not very well-supported by the rest of the link, which permits the plastic to flex and break.
Another problem of prior art plastic conveyor chains is that they tend to stretch. Since the chain generally needs to be taut in order to function properly, stretching of the chain can cause problems. For example, the excess chain tends to wedge itself in the track or in the guards at the drive end, causing jamming and malfunctioning of the conveyor.
Prior art chain also generally has no way to drive the chain from the side in addition to the bottom drive.
Prior art chain, when going around horizontal corners, generally has only a single point of contact with the wear strip or wheel, so that forces become concentrated at that point of contact.